MEMBER

GENERAL INFORMATION

Name:

Wilton D. Alston

Sex:

Male

Country:

United States

Occupation:

Principal Research Scientist

Short bio:

Wilt Alston writes from Upstate, NY. When he's not training for a marathon, or furthering his part-time study of libertarian philosophy, he works as a research scientist in transportation safety, focusing primarily on the safety of subway and freight train control systems.

Bio:

How would I describe myself and my specific beliefs about libertarianism? • While I could generally be described as a libertarian, a more appropriate and more accurate designation would be anarcho-capitalist. • The most basic expression and most fundamental dogma in libertarian theory is the non-aggression principle – the initiation of force is never justified. • The mainstream political parties are inherently similar, barely avoiding being identical; therefore, spending any time debating about them is time wasted. • The best means by which to right past wrongs are private, not via legislation, and this applies specifically to the issue of reparations for slavery. I embraced libertarianism not because it sounded interesting when I studied its theories. In fact, I have not, even to this day, read many of the books libertarians point to as seminal in their conversion. (This is neither an attack on those books or a suggestion for others. It is simply a statement of fact. And yes, my study of libertarian philosophy, including many of those “classics,” continues.) I embraced libertarianism because it best fit (by far) the conclusions I had already reached empirically. That deduction led me to begin my study of the more theoretical aspects, which soundly confirmed my initial conclusions. I'll end this personal thumbnail sketch as I ended my first published libertarian article: “To be completely free, secure, and happy, there are three things that concern me – life, liberty, and property. The State did not create them. The State can only take them away. There has been enough of that already. So unless I want to enjoy the fruits of income redistribution – which account for a major portion of the State’s activities – there is not much left for the State to do on my behalf.”

Columns by Wilton D. Alston

Exclusive to STR
June 10, 2009
'The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness. This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.'
~ Plato
'Wherever is found what is called a paternal government, there is found state education. It has been discovered that the best way to ensure implicit obedience is to...

Exclusive to STR
February 4, 2009
'Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India , history will look upon the Act of depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.'
~ Mohandas Gandhi, from An Autobiography

Exclusive to STR
"It is the continuing decline in faith in the politicization of society that has, for well over a year, made the 2008 presidential race the preoccupation of the mainstream media. The media must continue to advertise the products and services of the establishment owners, just as it does for the sellers of prescription drugs and other nostrums. Still, the outcome of the 2008...

Exclusive to STR
December 12, 2007
Apparently the NFL isn't making enough money. That's the only thing that could explain the latest scheme launched from the fertile minds that run the league. What am I talking about? Why, the NFL Network, of course. This is a 'premium' channel, run by the league, which carries NFL content 24/7.

Exclusive to STR
October 30, 2007
'We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a...

Exclusive to STR
Appearances are of four (4) kinds:
1) Things are as they appear to be;
2) Things neither are nor appear to be;
3) Things are, but do not appear to be;
4) Things are not, but yet appear to be.
~ Epictetus, Phrygian Philosopher
According to Spooner, the Constitution has no authority and never did. This is because of two rather...

When I'm not enjoying some classic R&B (e.g., Cameo or Anita Baker) or a heaping helping of Smooth Jazz (e.g., Brenda Russell or Boney James), or basically anything from a little-known, wonderfully talented, and completely uncategorizeable singer/songwriter named Alana Davis, I get into Classic Rock.

Exclusive to STR
"It is the continuing decline in faith in the politicization of society that has, for well over a year, made the 2008 presidential race the preoccupation of the mainstream media. The media must continue to advertise the products and services of the establishment owners, just as it does for the sellers of prescription drugs and other nostrums. Still, the outcome of the 2008...

Exclusive to STR
February 4, 2009
'Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India , history will look upon the Act of depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.'
~ Mohandas Gandhi, from An Autobiography

Exclusive to STR
June 10, 2009
'The people have always some champion whom they set over them and nurse into greatness. This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector.'
~ Plato
'Wherever is found what is called a paternal government, there is found state education. It has been discovered that the best way to ensure implicit obedience is to...

When I'm not enjoying some classic R&B (e.g., Cameo or Anita Baker) or a heaping helping of Smooth Jazz (e.g., Brenda Russell or Boney James), or basically anything from a little-known, wonderfully talented, and completely uncategorizeable singer/songwriter named Alana Davis, I get into Classic Rock.